Catastrophic Thinking Or “making A Negative Video Of Everything

Catastrophic thinking often expresses itself in two ways in our lives. The first is when we magnify or maximize a difficulty or a negative situation. The second occurs when we look to the horizon and can only visualize the worst-case scenario for the problems we have or the situations we face.

Colloquially it is said that those who have a catastrophic thought make a “negative video”. Something like this is what happens. It is as if the mind produces a whole movie, that is, a sequence of events. What is distinctive about these events is that they are very bad or have a highly destructive halo. Whoever acts like this is as if he needs to torture himself with his own imagination .

People with a high level of anxiety and depression tend to work with catastrophic thoughts, this being one of the elements that make that depression or anxiety persist. That these ideas come to mind is the consequence of a state of mind that is upset. It is that state of mind that leads us to fantasize about the worst, the macabre or the horrible. Let’s see what this is all about.

The characteristics of catastrophic thinking

The main feature of catastrophic thinking is that it is not based on the recognition of real risks. It is a thought based almost exclusively on the plane of the imaginary or fantastic. In other words, the dangers, threats or damages that are visualized are basically unlikely, not impossible.

A person dominated by catastrophic thinking may feel that his heart is beating very hard. You may not associate that with the fact that you had coffee a little while ago, or that you walked very fast in the last five minutes. Rather, you will see in it the beginning of a heart attack or the definitive proof that you are aging by leaps and bounds.

Someone with catastrophic thinking will not get on a plane either because they “have a feeling” that they may die in a terrible accident. Or fall in the middle of the sea and be eaten by sharks. Anyway. As we can see, catastrophic thoughts are not usually impossible, but they are unlikely. A “catastrophist” will choose the worst of all options to imagine the future. This, of course, will have very negative consequences on your emotional state and behavior patterns.

The origin of this type of thinking

Behind the catastrophic thinking, there is a kind of script or parliament. In other words, a repeating pattern of thought. Something like a template that is applied to everything that passes through the mind. We program ourselves to think of the world in terrible terms.

Why is this happening? We already said it. It is a way in which the anxiety and / or depression with which we carry is expressed. Those moods nurture and feed back on themselves. They are like a snowball that grows and becomes invasive. Catastrophism is one of its manifestations.

For some it also becomes a kind of defense mechanism. It is as if thinking about the worst then allows us to feel relieved that this unlikely scenario did not finally occur . Somehow, they feel like putting themselves in it but it protects them from disappointment and pain. A kind of “forward flight” that, however, envelops them in a skein of unnecessary anguish.

The consequences of thinking like this

Catastrophic thinking, like all our thoughts, is always accompanied by a set of feelings and emotions. By unleashing it, we only manage to increase fear, anger, resentment, guilt, sadness, pessimism and much more. In other words, it becomes a way of cultivating the worst part of ourselves.

On the other hand, it imperceptibly also makes us very demanding subjects. Either everything has to be perfect or chaos is coming. Either the people are blameless, or they are exerting a harmful influence on our lives. Thus, we end up becoming eternal dissatisfied who deny the imperfection of reality and become disillusioned beforehand with everything and everyone. This is not how you live well, in any case.

At this point, it’s time to evaluate if any of this happens to us. Perhaps we are mistaking the way to deal with a previous discomfort or a conflict that we have not resolved. Catastrophic thinking does not protect us or help us vent. Rather, it deprives us of initiative, while making us more nonconformist. In this way, we have spoken of the seed of bitterness.